"Why did you dye your hair, daddy?"
(I never recognized him sans moustachio.)
Posted on 05/11/2006 7:31:32 AM PDT by P-40
Local "entreprenuer" arrested... Detectives: suspect sold gas from driveway, then dyed hair. Round Rock man accused of stealing thousands of gallons from stores.
By Claire Osborn AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, May 10, 2006
It was the hair dye that helped detectives zero in on Shawn William Hoskins.
Travis County sheriff's detectives, looking for leads on who had siphoned thousands of gallons of fuel from two convenience stores, got a Crime Stoppers tip to check Hoskins' address in Round Rock. They drove there to interview him, according to an arrest affidavit.
During the interview, the affidavit said, Hoskins' 13-year-old daughter came home and asked her father why he had dyed his hair.
Suspicious, detectives interviewed several other people who gave them more evidence against Hoskins, said Roger Wade, spokesman for the Travis County sheriff's office. So, they went to get an arrest warrant. When they got back to Hoskins' house, he was gone, Wade said.
Now Hoskins, 51, is wanted on charges of felony theft, accused of pumping 1,995 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel from the stores' underground storage tanks while the stores were closed. Officials say the thief power-washed the stores' parking lots as he stole the gas — a ruse to make passers-by think he was there to clean up.
Hoskins remained at large Tuesday.
A neighbor told detectives that Hoskins had been selling gas from his driveway, the affidavit said. The neighbor also told investigators that the rims of Hoskins' pickup truck had been painted and the bumper had been removed, according to the affidavit. Investigators saw those changes on Hoskins' truck and also saw that the the molding had been removed from the vehicle, the affidavit said.
Hoskins' landlord told investigators that he bought four 55-gallon drums of gas from Hoskins, the affidavit said.
And a man who owned the property where Hoskins stored his trailer told detectives that Hoskins had gray hair and a moustache when he saw him May 4.
Hoskins has since shaved off the mustache and dyed his hair reddish brown, Wade said.
The affidavit said the man also showed detectives two yellow construction warning lights belonging to Hoskins — the same type that were on a truck photographed by a video camera at Graef's grocery in Mustang Ridge when 1,095 gallons of gas worth about $3,100 was stolen April 20.
The other store hit by the powerwashing thief was Wilhite's Country Corner at FM 1625 and FM 1327 in Creedmoor, where a witness reported seeing a white Chevrolet truck parked near the gas pumps on Feb. 14 when 900 gallons of diesel fuel worth $1,984 was stolen, the affidavit said.
So, is a thief that sells his loot to fencers an entreprenuer? I don't think that's a fair use of the term.
Officials say the thief power-washed the stores' parking lots as he stole the gas — a ruse to make passers-by think he was there to clean up.
Ummm. Actually he WAS there to clean up!
To the staff at the Statesman, it is.
That's why the "journalist" used the irony quotes.
Is it tongue & cheek, or is it because many in the MSM sees no real difference between production vs. theft (a la Marx)
"why couldn't those gas stations not be open after Katrina and Rita even though they had no electricity?"
Because it couldn't be done SAFELY. It's against the law (OSHA, EPA, and state law) to dispense gasoline in such a manner. Thieves generally aren't concerned about such things.
Duh.
Now Hoskins, 51, is wanted on charges of felony theft....
Hoskins remained at large Tuesday.
OK, the headline said he was arrested. The first words of the article said he was arrested, but in the article it said he was gone when they went to arrest him and that he is wanted, and that he is still at large. So, from reading the article it would appear that the headline is incorrect.
Because they didn't have a "little portable rig"?
Surely there is something between a hand cranked pump and a 60,000 power backup? A pump powered by a weed whacker sized gasoline motor for a single "spigot". Or a little portable generator that could hook up to one pump.
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